Maritime test center off to rolling start.

The freshly opened Maritime Domain Awareness Center (MDAC), established to support the Coast Guards Deepwater transformation program, is already moving ahead and processing upgrades for three ships a month, according to officials who run the test facility.

By the time of its ribbon cutting at the end of April, the MDAC had already been at work for six months, testing systems and software prior to installation in newly built or retrofit ships. The USCG Cutter Matagorda was upgraded with a command-and-control system and put to sea in early March.

The largest recapitalization program in U.S. Coast Guard history requires a large, high-tech test center to ensure the interoperability and quality control of electronic systems involved. The Deepwater contract was awarded to Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture between Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

"One of the hardest things to do is go to the shipyard and test systems for the first time. It really saves a lot of money to work out bugs in the labs rather than in the yard," said Patrick Ewing, Lockheed's senior program manager. "When you get to the yard, you want to be on a higher level of system testing."

Equipment bound for refitted ships or aircraft are loaded with software, tested in simulators and run through a gamut of interoperability examinations. After gaining a seal of approval, engineers from the center accompany the equipment to the end user for installation and instruction. For new hardware, that process begins during construction.

"In the past, interoperability was a plug-in after you built a system," said John Leonhardt, senior manager of engineering at MDAC. "What we're designing here is developing around interoperability from the start."

The $9.4 million MDAC, which boasts 16,000 square feet of lab space at its Moorestown, N.J. location, serves as the practical test ground for assets required for the Deepwater effort, including command and control platforms for the National Security Cutter and Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

The center offers a permanently staffed "help line" to assist sailors in the field and can connect to ships at sea to provide support. There are duplicate systems in the labs and at sea, to make it easier for support technicians to help Coast Guard personnel.